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PACIFIC GROVE -- This Pacific Grove High baseball team knew it had a tough -- almost impossible -- act to follow.

It’s hard to top a perfect season, which is exactly what the Breakers did last year. Thirty-one games, 31 victories. They became the first team in Central Coast Section history to go unbeaten since the baseball playoffs began in 1967.

Only three starters from that 2013 team return, and Wednesday all three were in the lineup as the Breakers opened the CCS D-II playoffs with an easy 10-0 win over St. Lawrence of Sunnyvale on the Pacific Grove field.

Leadoff hitter Chris Fife singled, doubled, walked, stole three bases and scored once. Anthony Coppla singled twice, scored once, drove in a run and had two steals. And the most prominent of the trio, Chris Clements, went 3-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and scored twice.

The Breakers post-season run resumes Saturday against No. 8 seed Branham (17-14) at a place to be determined, and how far they go may depend on Clements’ availability to pitch. He hasn’t been able to throw for nearly three weeks because of arm issues, and and his status the rest of the way remains in doubt.

Clements has already agreed to play at UC-Santa Barbara next year. He was named the MTAL Pitcher of the Year earlier this week and went 14-0 overall last year.

“It’ll be a decision we all have to be comfortable with,’’ Pacific Grove coach Gil Ruiz said of when, or if, Clements will throw in a Breaker uniform again. “He’ll throw in the bullpen and we’ll see how he reacts and recovers. He has a future in this game.’’

In his place Wednesday the two-time defending D-III champions used sophomore Dan Harrington and junior Nic Boatman to combine a two-hit shutout

“We’ve been preparing for this (Clements unable to pitch),’’ Ruiz said. “We’ve been throwing a lot of sophomores the last couple of weeks.’’

Clements had an ERA this year in the MTAL of 0.42 in 33 innings. He was a big reason why there were high hopes for the Breakers to three-peat as CCS champions.

“We knew we would have high expectations placed on us,’’ Ruiz said. “And the only thing we could do was accept them.’’

Even though the Breakers lost four of their final six MTAL games and lost their grip on first place, they still managed a 19-6 overall record were seeded No. 1 in the 16-team division.

Against an over-matched St. Lawrence team (15-4) from the unheralded Private School League, the champion Breakers took up where they left off.

Pacific Grove scored five times in the first inning on three hits, four steals, five walks and three St. Lawrence errors.

The Breakers scored twice more in the second, one in the fourth and ended things by virtue of the 10-run rule in the fifth on a two-run double by Garrett Russell.